Revisiting Coffee: A Year of Growth

Revisiting Coffee: A Year of Growth

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I'm doing something I've been looking forward to for a long time — coming back to six coffees I've already judged, brewed, and roasted before. I'm calling it the rematch. These are the exact same coffees: a Colombian medium, a Watermelon medium, a Honduras medium, an Ethiopian light roast white honey, a Honduras light roast, and a Java Nica from L'Kinzel Coffee Company out of Nicaragua. They've been sitting in the warehouse, some in vacuum-sealed bags, quietly aging while I've been out here sharpening my skills. The biggest question isn't whether the coffees changed. The biggest question is whether I have. I talk through what I remember about each coffee, what I'm hoping to find this time, and why I believe returning to familiar coffees is one of the most underrated tools a home brewer has. I also share a story about a Meyer lemon Colombian I ordered from a Seattle roaster years ago — a coffee that hit like a revelation the first time, then came back as a shadow of itself on the second order. That experience changed how I think about roasters, repeat purchases, and the expectations we bring to a cup. By listening to this episode, you'll understand why going back to a coffee you've already tried is one of the most honest tests of how much your palate and brewing knowledge have actually grown — and how to approach that rematch with curiosity instead of disappointment. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/support] For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

Tasty but Wrong

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I share one of the most disorienting brewing experiences I've had in months. I made what the numbers said was one of the worst cups I could make, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried a recipe from my own app using the Moccamaster, something I'd never really experimented with before. The app told me to do a bloom. I never do a bloom on the Moccamaster. So I wet the grounds, paused for 30 to 45 seconds, and let it run. When I poured that cup and took the first sip, it was bolder, livelier, and more interesting than what I usually make on that machine. Then I grabbed my TDS meter. The reading came back at 2.0. For context, the sweet spot for well-extracted coffee is somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5 TDS. At a 1:16 brew ratio, I was looking at somewhere around 24 to 25 percent extraction, well outside the accepted target range. By every measurement I trust, this cup should have tasted wrong. But it didn't. That tension is what this episode is about. I spent the rest of that morning thinking about comfort zones, constraints, failure, and what it means when the numbers say one thing and your palate says another. I talk about my ongoing failure challenge practice and what it keeps teaching me. I get into the logic of constraints and how deliberately stripping away variables forces you to see your coffee and your habits in a completely different light. By the end, I share something I wrote before recording this, a reflection on discomfort as a teacher. If you listen to this episode, you will walk away with a new way of thinking about what a "bad" cup actually is, and why deliberately breaking your own rules might be the most educational thing you can do as a home brewer. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/support] For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

Did the Gear Save This Coffee?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I share the story of an Ethiopian white honey processed coffee that had me ready to give up on it entirely. I kept it one-dimensional, flat, a single note of bright lemon acidity with a little chocolate on the finish. But instead of moving on to something new, I made a decision I don't usually make: I stayed with it for two weeks straight. I brewed it every way I could think of, across different brewers, different temperatures, different grind profiles, different experiments. Most of the time the results felt the same. But then I introduced a new brewer with a different bottom configuration, layered in the Sybaris Booster, and went back to the Melodrip I had talked badly about for weeks. And something shifted. The coffee came alive in a way I didn't recognize. What I learned from this experience goes beyond any single brew method or piece of gear. I started to realize that the tools I already own, the knowledge I had already built, and the simple act of staying with something long enough were doing more for my coffee than any new purchase could. I started to appreciate what was already on my shelf. You will hear me talk through whether the transformation was the gear, the coffee's natural maturation over time, or something that changed in me as a brewer. If you have ever given up on a coffee too early, questioned whether your current gear is enough, or wondered why the same beans can taste completely different weeks apart, this episode will give you a new way to think about patience, presence, and what it actually means to understand a coffee. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/support] For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

The Brewer Is the Recipe

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I explore a question that seems simple on the surface but actually runs deeper than most coffee conversations go: what is a recipe, really? I walk through a recent experiment where I brewed the same coffee using three different methods — the Hario V60, a French press, and the AeroPress — with the same ratio, the same grind size, and the same water temperature. My goal was to keep every variable constant. What I discovered almost immediately is that I couldn't. Not really. Because the brewer itself is a variable. A significant one. And it's one we almost never talk about when we're chasing recipes online or dialing in a new coffee. I came to a realization mid-experiment that changed how I see the whole thing: the brewer is part of the recipe. The geometry, the mechanism, the brew process unique to each device — all of it shapes what ends up in your cup. You can't steep a V60 for four minutes the way you would a French press. You can't treat an AeroPress like either of them. These are different instruments, the same way a violin and a piano are different instruments. You might be playing the same song, but the approach has to change completely. By listening to this episode, you'll walk away with a clearer understanding of why mastering one or two brewers deeply will always outperform collecting many and mastering none, and why the brewer deserves more of your attention than any recipe you'll ever find online. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/support] For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

Why Your Coffee Kettle Can't Be Trusted

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/fan_mail/new] In this episode, I dig into one of the most overlooked variables in pour over coffee: kettle temperature accuracy. I ran an experiment with my Fellow Stagg Pro EKG and two separate thermometers, a cheap one around twelve dollars and a more accurate barbecue thermometer around sixty dollars, and what I found honestly surprised me. The kettle I trust most, the one I love, the one with what I think is the best spout in the business, was lying to me about temperature pretty much the entire time. I set it to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and got readings of 205, 207, and beyond. So I started thinking about how blindly we trust this device. We measure to the gram, we time to the second, and we just assume the kettle does its job. I share why I picked up a Bonavita as a backup and what this whole thing has taught me about how I dial in my brews now. But this episode is not just about kettles. It is about how every piece of coffee gear has pros and cons, and how knowing those drawbacks is what actually makes you a better brewer. I bring in an offset smoker barbecue analogy to explain why inconsistent gear is not broken gear, and I talk about why questioning your equipment, your recipes, and even the advice you read online is the real path to enjoying your coffee. If you have ever wondered why your coffee tastes different from one brew to the next, or why a recipe that worked for someone else falls flat for you, this episode will give you a framework for thinking about the variables you may not have considered. You will learn how to use temperature swings to your advantage, how to think about your gear honestly, and why trusting your own palate matters more than following anyone else's protocol. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2412927/support] For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans